The Seattle Kraken – Fantasy Hockey Impact (Ep. 17)

Seattle Kraken Cartoon

Table of Contents

In the 17th episode of the Fantasy Hockey Hacks Podcast; Devon, Bruce, and John talk about the Seattle Kraken roster after it was revealed on Wednesday night. We discuss the UFA signings by the Kraken, roster selections (what we liked and didn’t), and the potential fantasy hockey impact they have for next season.

Highlights:

  • Luke Prokop comes out as first openly gay NHL-Drafted player
  • Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Chris Driedger big UFA signings for the Seattle Kraken
  • Seattle Kraken pass on big names available in the expansion draft
  • Fantasy implications and thoughts for next season

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Hockey News | July 19 – July 22 

  • July 19 | Luke Prokop comes out as first openly gay NHL-Drafted player.

  • July 21 | Seattle Expansion Draft Picks Leaked. Most players are known by noon. Frank Seravalli appeared to have a very good source inside the Kraken organization. UFA signings by the Seattle Kraken: 
    • Adam Larsson signs a 4 year $16M deal ($4M AAV, UFA 2025). No-trade clause for the first 2 seasons; then the last two seasons include a modified no-trade, where Larsson provides a 10-team list. Becomes Seattle’s pick from the Edmonton Oilers. 

    • Jamie Oleksiak signs a 5 year $23M deal ($4.6M AAV, UFA 2026). No-trade clause for the first 3 seasons; then the last two seasons include a modified no-trade, where Oleksiak provides a 16-team list. Becomes Seattle’s pick from the Dallas Stars. 
    • Chris Driedger signs a 3 year $10.5M deal ($3.5M AAV, UFA 2024). The contract does include a modified no-trade clause for all three years. Driedger would provide a 10-team list for trade. Becomes Seattle’s pick from the Florida Panthers. 
  • July 22 | Trades, Signings, Injury Updates
    • Caroline Hurricanes trade Alex Nedeljkovic to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2021 3rd round pick, and rights to Jonathan Bernier. Woof. Ned then signs a two year contract with a $3M AAV. 

    • Philadelphia Flyers trade Shayne Gostisbehere to the Arizona Coyotes, along with a 2022 2nd round pick and 2022 7th round pick.

    • Calgary Flames acquire Tyler Pitlick from the Seattle Kraken for 2022 4th round draft pick. 
    • Barclay Goodrow 6 years for $21.9 million, which works out to an AAV of $3.65 million. 

    • The Montreal Canadiens GM, Marc Bergevin, announced during his media availability that Shea Weber’s injuries were more severe than first thought. Bergevin he was very impressed by Weber’s play throughout the playoffs; then followed that up by saying, “He won’t be back next season, and probably won’t be back for his career. It will be impossible to replace Shea Weber, what he brings to our team on and off the ice. We’ll try our best but I know deep down that you can never replace Shea Weber.”
    • Andy Strickland (St. Louis Blues Rinkside Reporter): “Can confirm the Edmonton #Oilers have both 7 and 8 year contracts agreed to with Zach Hyman. EDM and TOR are working to execute a sign & trade which will pay Hyman 8 yrs. at around $5M. Salary comes in higher in middle of contract and includes some no move protection.”

 

Seattle Expansion Draft | Players Selected

Here are your Seattle Kraken

  • Anaheim Ducks | Haydn Fleury, D
  • Arizona Coyotes | Tyler Pitlick, C (Traded to Calgary Flames)
  • Boston Bruins | Jeremy Lauzon, D
  • Buffalo Sabres | William Borgen, D
  • Carolina Hurricanes | Morgan Geekie, C
  • Calgary Flames | Mark Giordano, D
  • Chicago Blackhawks | John Quenneville, C
  • Columbus Blue Jackets | Gavin Bayreuther, D
  • Colorado Avalanche | Joonas Donskoi, RW
  • Dallas Stars |  Jamie Oleksiak, D
  • Detroit Red Wings | Dennis Cholowski, D
  • Edmonton Oilers | Adam Larsson, D
  • Florida Panthers |  Chris Driedger, G
  • Los Angeles Kings | Kurtis MacDermid, D
  • Minnesota Wild | Carson Soucy, D
  • Montreal Canadiens | Cale Fleury, D
  • Nashville Predators | Calle Jarnkrok, C
  • New Jersey Devils | Nathan Bastian, RW
  • New York Islanders | Jordan Eberle, RW
  • New York Rangers | Colin Blackwell, C 
  • Ottawa Senators | Joey Daccord, G
  • Philadelphia Flyers | Carsen Twarynski, LW
  • Pittsburgh Penguins | Brandon Tanev, LW
  • St. Louis Blues | Vince Dunn, D
  • San Jose Sharks | Alexander True, C
  • Tampa Bay Lightning | Yanni Gourde, C
  • Toronto Maple Leafs | Jared McCann, C
  • Vancouver Canucks | Kole Lind, RW
  • Washington Capitals | Vitek Vanecek, G
  • Winnipeg Jets | Mason Appleton, C

Final Grade By Fantasy Hockey Hacks Podcast

Devon, John, Bruce | C-

Personally, this is not the Seattle Kraken that we would have selected. We’re going with a C- here because the Kraken have done a good job acquiring young, talented, and affordable goaltending; they will have a very good defensive core, and they managed to maintain cap flexibility ($30,701,667 according to CapFriendly.com). 

THE BAD: 

    • The decision not to select Jake Bean from the Caroline Hurricanes, and instead take Morgan Geekie was baffling to me. 
    • Buffalo, Chicago, and Columbus didn’t have much to offer; but still, the players taken by Seattle here seem like long-shots to me. I understand that cap space is important, but why not give Max Domi a shot? 
    • Why was Kurtis MacDermid selected over someone with more upside in Kale Clague? 
    • Cale Fleury out of Montreal also seems like an odd selection to me, outside of being the brother of Haydn Fleury. 
    • With plenty of goalies available, and center being such an important position, why take Joey Daccord over Chris Tierney? 
    • Alex True in San Jose was another generic, cap-saving selection in my view; why not look at a more established NHL player? 
    • Probably the most surprising pick for me was from the Philadelphia Flyers, Carson Twarynski over proven point-producers like James Van Riemsdyk and Jakob Voracek.  

THE GOOD: 

      • Yanni Gourde. 64 points in 2017-2018, and played at a 53 point-pace this past year; Gourde should play in the top 6 for the Kraken and land in the 60-point range. Gourde is now expected to miss the start of the regular season, he had shoulder surgery this week.  

      • Jordan Eberle. With the exception of 2018-2019, you can pretty much bank on 20-25 goals and 50+ points from Jordan Eberle. Shot volume is very consistent as well; he produced 2.3 SOG/Game in three of the past four seasons with a shooting percentage ranging from 11.8-13.9%. The obvious variable here is, who will his new linemates be in Seattle? He should be given every opportunity to succeed with his new team (first line, PP1).  
      • Jared McCann. McCann’s 3 year average is 45 points, (21 goals) over 82 GP. Last year, when Malkin went down with injury, McCann stepped up 14 goals (32 points) in 43 GP; good enough for a 61 point pace. I think McCann in the Pacific Division should be able to maintain similar numbers. Note, McCann won’t be playing with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, or Jake Guentzel on the power play; but players like Gourde, Giordano, and Eberle should help keep his numbers respectable. 
  • Defence Core. 
    • Adam Larsson is not an offensive juggernaut; however, he does provide category coverage as he was 5th in Hits (166) and 2nd in blocked shots (128) last season.
    • Mark Giordano had a monster season in 2018-2019 (17 goals, 57 assists for 74 points), so his 3 year average numbers are a bit inflated. He has still produced between a 38 to 42 point pace over 82 games though, and his shot rates have been steady at between 2.5 and 2.8 SOG/Game. 
    • Vince Dunn would be my break-out candidate among the defencemen on this team.  
  • Goaltending.
    • We’ve talked about both Chris Driedger and Vitek Vanecek in past podcasts, so nothing new to report here. I believe that Driedger will be given the opportunity to be the starter next season (45 to 50 starts). I also believe that wins will be difficult to come by, at least given the personnel on the roster currently. That said, with the defenseman playing in front of him, he should be able to maintain solid peripherals; so definitely watch where he is going in cats leagues next season. 

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